Fish and bird deaths in 2 southern states

My guess is that there was a specific event, such as an electro-magnetic pulse (at a certain frequency) that took out these birds and fish.
This could be caused by an event such as a coming earthquake.

"...the birds had suffered internal trauma. That could have happened if a single flock had suddenly got caught in a violent and unusual storm. Or, it has been speculated, a local fireworks display could have startled the birds so badly that they were unable to prevent themselves from flying into trees, pylons and houses.


Bird experts stressed no one should be worried. "Mass bird die-offs can be caused by starvation, storms, disease, pesticide, collision with man-made structures or human disturbance ... Initial findings indicate that these are isolated incidents that were probably caused by disturbance and disorientation," Greg Butcher, director of bird conservation at the Audubon Society, said."

Of course, there are the folks who believe it's a sign from God, that He's had enough and he's coming down to kick everyone's ass.

YOU MAKE THE CALL!

Throwback products we love: Vinyl Records

Throwback Products We Love: Vinyl Records


By Diane Bullock Nov 30, 2010
 

The LP record. Those clunky, 12-inch discs of vinyl have inspired a god-like worship by audiophiles -- from John Cusak’s character in High Fidelity who organized his music collection not alphabetically, not chronologically, but autobiographically to Stanley Goodspeed in The Rock who shelled out $600 for a Beatles LP, rather than a $13 CD because they “sound better” to the characterization of Lester Bangs in Almost Famous, whose radio station studio and bedroom/home office were clogged, floor to ceiling, with the last ‘real’ records before the impending “death rattle, the last gasp, the last grope” of rock and roll music.


Four decades before Cameron Crowe had Bangs putting a nail in the coffin his record acquiring habit, RCA Victor was introducing the very first commercial vinyl record to the market. But the listening medium didn’t catch on until with the public until Columbia Records pioneered cost effective playback equipment and unveiled the 12-inch Long Play 33 1/3 RPM microgroove polyvinyl chloride record at a New York press conference in 1948.

The vinyl record would be the dominant mass market music medium for the next three-plus decades until the 1980s when cassette tapes started filling the shelves. But vinyl’s major popularity plunge came courtesy of Sony (SNE) and Philips’ (PHG) digitally recorded compact disc which proved far more portable, far less vulnerable to damage and, according to some, provided better fidelity. Vinyl records were officially ushered out of the marketplace by 1991 when the vast majority of copies of U2’s Achtung Baby were purchased on CD and Tower Records stores were holding final clearance sales on all vinyl merchandise, which comprised only 15 percent of total sales.

With the relatively recent advent of the Internet, the MP3 and the iPod (AAPL), the empire of the CD is experiencing a gradual overthrow. According to Billboard's senior chart manager and analyst Keith Caulfield, 44 million digital albums were purchased by July 2010, up four million from the previous year, while CD sales dropped by 33 million to 114 million. Online stores now predominate the retail music landscape with Apple’s iTunes store taking the biggest bite at 70% of the digital music market share. June 2009 saw an end of the brick and mortar record store era when the last Virgin Megastore chain in North America closed its doors.

Of course, not all of America’s music stores have turned their leases over to Pinkberry. And of the proud few that remain, an unexpected sales trend is in the works. Although common logic and practicality dictate that vinyl records should have gone the way of fellow technological dinosaurs the floppy disc, the beeper and its CD successor, the LP has managed to cement its place in the niche music consumer’s heart and stereo shelf.

While the vinyl record will never again be a heavyweight contender in the music retail industry, currently comprising only one percent of total album sales, it certainly deserves ‘comeback kid’ status. According to Nielsen SoundScan, sales of vinyl records actually increased by nearly one million units from 1.9 million in 2008 to 2.8 million in 2009 -- and those figures exclude independent shops and concert sales. (In 1980, at the height of vinyl's popularity, 322 million LPs were sold.) We’re seeing a resurgence of vinyl catalog reissues as well as a growing roster of artists firing up the vinyl presses for new releases. Some artists like Green Day are doing both. Last year the punk band re-released every record in their entire catalog on LP and then pressed their newest album, 21st Century Breakdown, on vinyl for its initial release. The Rolling Stones is also catering to the LP collector with a new all-vinyl limited edition box set of remastered recordings from 1964-1969, which will set fans back $265.

As long as there remains a market for vinyl records, a demand will coexist for the equipment on which to play them. Electronics companies like Sony and Pioneer hawk state-of-the-art automatic turntables while recreations of turn-of-the-century wood-accented cabinet models complete with modern digital conversion capability are the business of companies like Crosley. Even Pottery Barn (WSM) has gotten in on the vinyl action with a classic leather bound portable suitcase player that plays and digitizes 33, 45 and 78 rpm records into audio files.

The lasting appeal of the vinyl record extends beyond retro novelty item hipstertude into 100 percent uncompromising sound snobbery. There is a superior race of audio purists who insist that the most cleanly mastered compact disc could never rival the hiss, crackle and pop of its spiral-grooved counterpart. They’ll argue that there’s nothing like physically flipping through card jackets in record store bins, admiring the album art, removing the record from its paper sleeve and gingerly cradling its edges in their palms.

Besides, Stanley Goodspeed wouldn’t exactly get to hear "turn me on, dead man" on "Revolution 9" by hitting the rewind button on his iPod.
http://www.minyanville.com/special-features/articles/vinyl-records-turntable-record-player-gift/11/30/2010/id/31349

Vinyl Revival: Record stores selling more vinyl albums

By Jeremy Essig - Columbia Business Times Aug 6, 2010

What if vinyl records saved the music industry?

That joke, relayed by Streetside Records manager Nick Soha, has been going around the retail music industry for a few years now. As with any good joke, there lies a kernel of truth — a truth that might help an industry considered on its way to extinction.

With the rise in popularity of compact discs, vinyl records became an antiquated format. Then came the Internet music-sharing craze and online music sales, which further marginalized the old LP format at the beginning of the millennium. Through services such as Apple’s iTunes and Napster, customers could purchase music instantly from the comfort of their own homes. As a result, retail music stores saw a decline in both sales and profits.

However, rumors of the industry’s decline have been greatly exaggerated, said Soha and Slackers manager Kate Passis. Slackers was founded in Columbia in 1993 and has expanded to Jefferson City and the St. Louis area, where it has nine stores. Streetside, part of a national chain of music stores, has been in Columbia since 1980. Although both managers said sales are not as strong as they once were, they also expressed optimism for the present and future.


Streetside Records, located on Providence Road across from the MU power plant, has had one of its best summers in a long time, Soha said. Part of this success, he said, can be attributed to a revived interest in vinyl records.

Vinyl is “a big part of sales now,” Soha said.

Three years ago, Streetside only stocked about 20 to 30 records, Soha said. The medium was so marginalized that one employee, when registering a sale to a customer who brought a vinyl record to the counter, asked when the store began selling calendars.

Since that time, however, vinyl sales have made an epic comeback.

Vinyl album sales are still less than 1 percent of total album sales, but vinyl sales rose from 1.9 million in 2008 to 2.5 million in 2009, a 33 percent increase, according to Nielsen SoundScan, the entertainment industry’s data information system that tracks point-of-purchase sales. (The data doesn’t account for the used vinyl market.)

Preparing for another migration of the younger generation, Passis said Slackers is planning to place a large order of new vinyl to coincide with the return of MU students for the fall semester.

Passis said the Slackers store on Broadway is also helped by a robust trade-in business. During the economic downturn, she said customers might be less likely to hold onto old CDs and DVDs and more willing to trade them in for store credit. Soha said used media is also a strong seller at Streetside, which allows customers to receive either cash or store credit for used items.

Both managers also said video games and an expanding selection of Blue Ray discs have contributed significantly to their stores’ sales totals. The ability to carry video games and Blue Ray next to more nostalgic media such as vinyl provides what Passis said is one of the best aspects of the modern retail music store.

“We don’t sell anything people need,” she said. “We sell what people want, which is great.”

The vinyl revival is also boosting sales of another retro product: the turntable. Sam Jones, an owner of Pure Audio, said national sales of turntables have increased about 70 percent during the past few years.

Jones attributes the increase to a number of factors. Some customers are rediscovering old vinyl that was never made available in digital format. Others have inherited the record collection of relatives and are looking to play songs they heard at family occasions. The younger generation, Jones said, has also become enamored with the nostalgia factor that vinyl provides.

Top Ten Vinyl Albums in 2009

Title                                                                             Artist                                                Units Sold

Abbey Road……………………………………………The Beatles…………………………34,800
Thriller………………………………………………….Michael Jackson…………………….29,800
Merriweather Post Pavilion …………………….............AnimalCollective…………………….14,000
Wilco…………………………………………………...Wilco……………………………….13,200
Fleet Foxes……………………………………………. Fleet Foxes…………………………12,700
Backspacer………………………………………….....Pearl Jam……………………………12,500
Veckatimest………………………………………....... Grizzly Bear…………………………11,600
Appetite For Destruction………………………….........Guns N’ Roses……………………...11,500
Big Whiskey & The GrooGrux King……….............Dave Matthews Band……………....11,500
In Rainbows………………………………………........Radiohead………………………….11,400

Source: Nielsen SoundScan

Vinyl Isn't The Only Retro Format Getting Love These Days

By Cory Graves Thursday, Aug 5 2010 Dallas Observer

When retailers and critics began singing the praises of digital media—namely the newly en vogue compact discs in the mid-1980s—vinyl began its slow descent into the background, fading into virtual obscurity around 1991. Or so mainstream labels and retailers would have you believe.

Despite its dwindling availability, vinyl never stopped being manufactured. And it never completely vanished. Vinyl sales topped 1.9 million units nationwide in 2008, the most in any year since 1998, and rose another 33 percent in 2009 according to Nielsen SoundScan, the official source of sales records used by the music industry.

"Most days, we sell almost as much LPs, dollar-wise, as we do CDs—pretty shocking for 2010," says Chris Penn, part owner of Good Records on Lower Greenville. "My theory is that the exaggeration of the death of vinyl was a way for the music industry to push the two main formats they were hawking at the time: the compact disc and cassette."


The incipient resurgence that niche formats like vinyl, cassettes, and 8-track tapes are currently experiencing is not without merit. For vinyl, the revitalization makes sense. Its larger packaging better accommodates cover art, making them more aesthetically appealing to both consumers and collectors. And the sound quality is known for exhibiting a great deal more warmth than the format's digital counterparts. Plus, the very idea that records will have to be changed or flipped frequently leads to listening experiences that are more purposeful—more of something that's experienced, and appreciated on a higher level, and not as something simply relegated to the background.

"There is definitely a collector-nerd quality to it," Penn says. "But I don't think the resurgence would be sustained if people were not actually diving in and making listening to an album more of an 'event' type of situation—almost communal."

This is an idea that's catching on locally as well. In the past year, many local bands put out vinyl releases—most notable among those being the Teenage Cool Kids and their much-hyped Foreign Lands, an album that was made available exclusively on 180-gram vinyl.

And it's not just bands who are championing the once dying format; local labels are also partially responsible for vinyl's sudden chic. In March, the highly influential Dallas-based music blogs Gorilla vs Bear and Weekly Tape Deck combined forces to create Forest Family Records. The label has already released seven-inch singles by New York's Cults and Colorado's Gauntlet Hair. In each case, the releases received loads of national media attention, and the label subsequently sold out of their initial pressings very quickly. For the time being, Forest Family maintains the sentiment that all future releases by the label will come on vinyl, and perhaps an occasional cassette.

"It's the quality aspect of the vinyl format that we prefer over any other medium," says Forest Family co-founder Nathan Smith. "Even driving in my car, I'll plug in my iPod or a burned CD; it's rare that I even make a CD purchase anymore."

Although the reasons for vinyl's recent rebound seem reasonable enough, the rationale behind the growing demand for cassette tapes isn't quite as clear. While the superior artwork and sound quality of vinyl give plausibility to its increased popularity, those same elements are what makes the cassette's comeback equally perplexing. Album artwork suffers on the small sized, awkwardly shaped cassette tapes—and that's not even mentioning the diminished sound quality that comes with having to cram so many sounds onto such a small strip of magnetic tape, and one which only degrades with each listen.

"With cassettes, you have all these sounds compressed onto a piece of 1/8-inch magnetic tape, says Teenage Cool Kids guitarist Andrew Savage. "The more sound you try to jam on there, the more you have to compete with tape hiss."

While it might not be for their aesthetic, several reasons exist for the renewed interest in cassettes. For one thing, they represent a bit of nostalgia for children who grew up in the 1980s. Now aged in their late 20s and early 30s, for these listeners, it's about re-creating a sentimental experience, listening to the format that reminds them of some of their earliest exposure to music.

"The whole cassette thing coming back seems like pure novelty to me," says Good Records' Penn. "I know there are some great cassette-only labels popping up, [but] it's really not convenient, as most cars are not equipped with cassette decks anymore, nor are home stereo systems."

On a more social level, however, cassette's revitalization is based on cultural implications that, in some circles, are more important than how the end product looks or sounds. Tapes are the modern-day embodiment of the underground DIY ethic that was so prevalent in the 1980s and early 1990s, and led to the success of bands like Sonic Youth.

Cassettes are one of the cheapest and easiest formats to create and reproduce, which enables artists with a wide variance in skill sets the ability to record. As such, sound qualities can vary from mediocre to downright excruciating. But very few artists see large profits from cassette-only releases, or even intend to for that matter.

A new generation of fans are giving records a spin

A new generation of fans are giving records a spin By Chris Serico • cserico@lohud.com • July 22, 2010


Tony Pradlik sells vinyl records from his home in White Plains and on the Internet (www.the-rockin-rex.com) in lieu of a traditional storefront. (Tania Savayan/The Journal News)

If the refrain that the Internet has killed the music industry sounds like a broken record, consider this: A whole generation has never even heard a record spinning unless a disc jockey's involved.

Yet, the same Internet that slashed so much of the music industry is enabling some local entrepreneurs to continue to profit from a product that might seem counterintuitive: vinyl.


It's not just boomers nostalgic for their youth, either. College kids, collectors, and yes, even those boomers looking for a vintage "Frampton Comes Alive," album are fueling a resurgent interest in LPs.

John Bastone, 49, who ran the Record Room on North Avenue in New Rochelle in the late '80s, and Exile on Main Street in Mount Kisco in the mid-'90s, is one of them.

Within three years of opening the latter store, a Sam Goody branch opened around the corner, and Borders opened directly across the street. Bastone closed the store's doors in about 2004.

However, he and his wife, Margaret, continue to sell CDs and vinyl from their White Plains home. Via their website, recordriots.com, and eBay, Amazon.com and regional record conventions — including one held in May at the New Rochelle Radisson — Exile CDs makes most of its revenue through digital music, but vinyl has helped keep the business afloat.

"It's still a portion of the market," he says. "Even though it's 10 times as popular as it was ... a year ago, it's still a fraction of what it was back in its heyday."

Tony Pradlik can relate. A fellow White Plains resident, Pradlik worked at several record stores — two in Yonkers and another in New York City — before shutting down Rockin' Rex in the '90s. In recent years, he's returned to selling music, but now he's doing it from his house, and on the Internet (www.the-rockin-rex.com), in lieu of a traditional storefront.

The venue has changed, but love for big, round records has not, he says.

"There's always been interest (in vinyl)," Pradlik says. "It's never died."

DJs and hard-core collectors comprise a niche demographic that has sustained the vinyl business for Bastone since the digital revolution. When he visits Purchase College, which he's done eight to 12 times per year for 18 years, students also pay for their penchant for vinyl records — or at least the large album covers that contain them.


"Vinyl outsells CDs when I'm there," he says. "College kids are driving the resurgence of vinyl. I have a theory that kids who live on college campuses (think) 'Why would I spend $5 to $10 on a poster when I can go to a flea market or a yard sale or a street fair and find records for a dollar and just hang up the cover?' ... For them, it wasn't retro. For them, it was something totally brand new."


There's also value in purchasing common vintage vinyl records.

"You can find a lot of $1, $2 and $3 records, and buy a lot more music for a much cheaper price," Bastone adds.

There's also consumer interest in rarities. Pradlik says some vinyl records never made the leap to digital formats due to legal disputes over music rights, musicians dying off, and other reasons.

For both record dealers, the steadiest and most popular vinyl sales are those featuring classic rock acts, including the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin, iconic jazz artists, such as Miles Davis and John Coltrane, and soul legends.

"A lot of the DJs and new bands who use old soul records are looking for beats and samples," Bastone says.

Punk records from the '70s and '80s also generate interest among Pradlik's clients.

"That kind of stuff is through the roof now," he says.

The trend has prompted record labels to issue and reissue albums on vinyl, allowing for additional interest and sales.

Bastone has hopes for bringing a record convention to the Westchester County Center, provided the cost isn't prohibitive. He believes the vinyl trend is best buoyed by the experience of listening to a record when the needle hits the groove.

"If you have a brand new piece of vinyl and a brand new CD, the fact is a CD could never sound as good as a record," he says. "And I'm not an audiophile , but any audiophile can tell you that. You get that warm, fuzzy feeling that you're not going to get from ... your iPod or your CD."

Pradlik agrees: "It's about time travel. You can put yourself back in the time this thing was made, even if you weren't from that era."

For the love of.... VINYL!

Pt. 1



Pt. 2



Pt. 3



Pt. 4



Pt. 5



And...this!

Chicago vinyl record stores survive digital music era.

Written by Katie Schweiker, Jeremy Mikula, and Leah Hendrickson

Audio Slideshow: Chicago On The Record – A visit to three Chicago Record Stores

In a world of iPods, Zunes, .mp3s, .wavs, .flacs, .aifs, .rms, .snds and other digital audio formats, 33 1/3 revolutions per minute still counts to some.


Despite Apple’s announcement that the 10 billionth song was downloaded from iTunes in February, many Chicagoans still listen to vinyl Long Play (LP) records from both new and old artists.

“.mp3s were really cool, and they still are,” said Dave Hofer, a new products buyer at Reckless Records’ Wicker Park location. “You could fit so many of them into a little thing, you know. You don’t have to carry a book of CDs in your car anymore, for example. But there’s just something about vinyl that draws people in.”


Reckless is a music store with three Chicago locations that sells new and used vinyl – LPs, 45s, and 78s – and used DVDs and CDs. In spite of the era of readily available digital media and an economic downturn, they still do a pretty good business, Hofer said.

“We have people who come in and only look for used DVDs and CDs,” Hofer said. “However, if we didn’t have vinyl, we’d go out of business. People come in with their old records because they grow out of stuff and are amazed that people are interested in [their old records]. I have people who come up and ask when we put out new stuff and I always say, ‘All day, every day, dude.’”

“No CD’s. Never had ‘em. Never will.” This sign hangs on the door to Dave’s Records in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. For owner Dave Crain, there is no other alternative to the sound of vinyl records. Dave’s, “will always be a store where vinyl is king,” Crain said.

Dave’s Records is one of the few strictly vinyl shops in Chicago with 40,000 titles to choose from. When you walk in you are greeted with the sweet, musty aroma of vinyl. The floor tiles beckon you further into the store with their checkered pattern. The walls are lined from floor to ceiling with vinyl. Each record in its spot is watched over by Crain as he sits at a raised counter.


These include new albums by new artists, used albums, imports, reissues and even albums that are out of print and difficult to find. Hand Crain a record and he will throw it on the store’s turntable for a spin to help shopper’s make an educated decision. Dave’s makes sure that if you can’t find what you are looking for in their store, they will send you to another local record store.

Crain said Dave’s is for “people who love records. They are part of the ever evolving and ever revolving world of record shoppers.”


Dusty Groove America is a hub for certain niche music lovers: jazz, soul and funk are what the store specializes in. Customers appreciate the specific target audience compared to other music providers.

“Best Buy is trying to cater to a broad audience,” said Phil Garrison of Chicago while he thumbed through a stack of records. “It’s going to be hard to find obscure items. That’s the main reason why I come to places like this.”


According to Nielsen SoundScan more than 2 million vinyl albums were sold in 2009. That is an increase of 35 percent from 2008.


While record sales are on the rise, CD sales continue to fall. Even though CDs cost nearly half as much as their vinyl counterpart, their sales have dropped 20 percent this year, according to Nielsen. However, vinyl record sales only account for about 1 percent of all album sales.

Statistics show that digital music formats aren’t going away, either.


According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), the digital music industry grew internationally by about 25 percent in 2008, making $3.7 billion. Digital platforms now account for nearly 20 percent of all music sales, a five percent growth from 2007, IFPI said.

One reason for these figures is the ease and portability of things like the iPod, whose numerous models can store anywhere from 500 to 40,000 songs.


“iPods were a crazy new inventions when they came out, but I think the novelty of them is starting to wear off,” Hofer said. “.mp3s and digital music, even CDs, are functional but that’s about it. They’re like decorative buttons on a sport coat. Whereas something like an LP comes down to being able to hold it and having a thing, like buying a book that you really like instead of just reading it on the Kindle. If I were to sum it up in one word, I’d say ‘physicality’ plays a big part in it.”

But while the idea of having physical media is important to some, comparing things like audio quality and physicality is like comparing apples and oranges.

“Are [records] better? I don’t know,” said Stephen Sowley as he shopped in Reckless’ Wicker Park location. “For me they’re better, but for others .mp3s are better. ‘Better’ is a relevant term, you know? You can’t take a record player with you when you go jogging.”

One of my all-time favorite YouTube vids.... Brings a tear to my eye though...

The Dr. Who theme on guitar (with effects)...

From a few years back...

The silent return of vinyl records (found from article in 2008)

M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Chicago, Illinois
Sun, 05/25/2008 12:01 PM

There is one good reason why the movie High Fidelity, based on Nick Hornby's best-selling novel set in London, was shot in Chicago.

The largest city in the Midwest has been long known as a Mecca for indie rock and the place where a countless number of bands built their credibility. In the days of yore, little-known bands like Slint, Silver Jews, Tortoise or big arena rocker Smashing Pumpkins built their fan base in Chicago while laboring in obscurity under the tutelage of labels like Touch and Go, Drag City and Thrill Jockey Records.

Recently big acts the likes of Wilco and the Breeders repatriated to Chicago to work on their new albums.


But the ultimate reason for the movie being shot in Chicago is the fact that the windy city is home to a large population of independent music stores manned by people who are as devoted as the characters of Rob Gordon and his cranky clerk Barry.


In fact, on a fine day of spring, hungry vinyl fetishists will likely find one of those High Fidelity moments in one of Chicago's record stores.


Earlier this month, in Kiss the Sky Record store in Geneva, just outside Chicago, I got into a tense argument about the best five rock records of all time with the store manager, Steve.


Steve Warrenfeltz, the 50-something record store owner, could not reconcile his choice of The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band and Rubber Soul, The Kinks' Village Green Preservation Society, Jimi Hendrix's Are You Experienced? and Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon with my top three picks: Television's Marquee Moon, Gang of Four's Entertainment and the Smiths' The Queen is Dead.


But the upside to having an argument with a bohemian record store manager is that you end up getting a vinyl of the Byrds' Sweetheart of the Rodeo for just US $3.


"The good thing about running a record store is that we will always bump into crazy people like you guys," Warrenfeltz told me before I left the store.

Yes, it is this kind of record store that can be found in the Chicago-land area: stores run by dedicated vinyl junkies like Steve, a guy who once worked as a roadie for the Kinks in the mid 1960s and who was more than happy to leave his well-paid job for corporate America only to pursue his labor of love.


For a totally different experience, I recently checked out Dave's Record in downtown Chicago.


This store takes rock snobbism (or using the popular election jargon elitism) to a new level. The sign on the door to Dave's Records says it all. "No CD's!! Never had 'em!! Never Will!!"


Located in the upmarket Chicago District of Clark Street, Dave's Record caters to the need of hipster college kids who scavenge rare copies of Marquee Moon or the Minutemen's Double Nickels On the Dime.

A trendy-looking clerk sat up on his platform watching over me salivating over thousands of rare vinyl records.


And when I paid for my purchase, the clerk gave me a disapproving look. He was also probably baffled by my purchase of Marquee Moon, Pixies' Doolittle and Young Marble Giants' Colossal Youth.

Or it might have been that I was the first Southeast Asian to visit his store.


Even deep in a Midwestern county like DeKalb, music addicts can still find a decent store that keeps a steady supply of both new and used vinyl records at low prices.


Located in the midst of Northern Illinois University (NIU)'s dorms and lecture halls is DeKalb's oldest record store Record Revolution, or Record Rev for short.


"Record Rev started up in September 1973, back when Dark Side Of The Moon was at the top of the charts. We started out selling LPs at $4 including tax! Now 34 years later, we are still selling LPs at $4 (in our used department)," store owner Mark Cerny said in the record store website.


The last time I went to the record store, an Indonesian friend got a free LP for buying records worth more than $15.


But the greatest compliment came from one of the store's clerks, who praised my pal for purchasing the Arcade Fire debut album Funeral on vinyl. I think they became friends after that.


Such is the joy of being a vinyl addict these days, the warmth of human interaction absent from the aisles of Wal-Mart, Target or Best Buy or when one presses the "buy song" button on iTunes.


The proliferation of MP3s, both legal and illegal, has cheapened music, giving true music fans the strong conviction to distance themselves from the crowd and embrace vinyl records.


In recent years, in the midst of slumping CD sales, the sale of vinyl records has soared through the roof.


Time magazine reported last year that 990,000 albums were sold on vinyl, up 15.4 percent from 2006. Music rag Spin also reported that the Chicago-based Music Direct, a purveyor of turntables and new and reissued vinyl has seen the format's sale surge by more than 300 percent in the last three years.


The rise in the sale of vinyl has driven record companies, indie labels in particular, to issue the work of their artists on vinyl with a price lower than that of the CD format. The price tag for the Shins' debut album Oh, Inverted World on vinyl is $8, while the CD format is available for $13.


Vinyl has also become the weapon for musicians to lure fans to buy more of their work. After releasing their new album In Rainbows on MP3 format late last year, British avant-garde rockers Radiohead in January released the album in a box set containing two vinyl discs and extended liner notes.


Last month, Warner Bros dusted off its vault and reissued Metallica's back catalog only on the vinyl format. As of now, only Ride the Lightning and Kill 'Em All are available on the market. Metallica's thrash metal masterpiece Master of Puppets will only come out on vinyl on June 10. Next in line will be reissues of early releases from Green Day and the Red Hot Chili Peppers.


On May 20, San Francisco-based record label 4 Men with Beards released Velvet Underground debut album Velvet Underground & Nico for the American market. In the past, 4 Men with Beards has bought the rights to classic records like Aretha Franklin's Lady Soul, Dusty Springfield's Dusty in Memphis and Buzzcock's Singles Going Steady and has started pressing them for the American market.


There is no time like the present to become a vinyl junkie.

An explaination of the world's religions...

Shawnism: Life is full of shit.

http://calvinscanadiancaveofcool.blogspot.com/

So STOP SAYING IT!

If you want to KEEP saying it, help us to get back to it!

This is FREAKIN' COOL!

We took you through Bruce and Melanie Rosenbaum’s ModVic (Modern Victorian) Home full Steampunked House a couple of months back. What we had missed then was this gorgeous and elaborate Victorian Organ Command Desk that’s made me fanatical since the very first glance of it. Built with 6 months of labor around remains of the 19th century pump organ that Bruce could lay hands on, this contraption beyond words and thoughts – betters the original - all wonder collectors and Steampunks would second that.

Everything decked in for the Command Desk compilation is authentic Victorian antique. Then be it the inverted Chapel organ pipes mounted on the wall behind the setup, or the all-in-one workstation desk completed in 3 monitors, printer, scanner and webcam, of course the keyboard and other peripherals included. The Victorian Organ Command Desk besides the aforementioned, has a iPhone doc, horn speakers on either side, USB and card media readers, a scanner under the keyboard, a clock face flanked in 6 LCD digital picture frame displays and a pair of coach lamps with neon flicker bulbs for all that ambience required. Bruce’s house also has a wonderful typewriter and about a bronze door weighing about a ton. Aren’t you lured enough to get into this house?

Webcam

Printer

3 monitors and keyboard as well as iDock

Real Horn style speakers

Door to this room

http://www.gizmowatch.com/entry/steampunk-home-owner-s-all-in-one-workstation-is-latest-to-fall-for/

Retro is becoming the present!

Record Your Own Records With Gakken’s Gramophone Kit


By Kyle VanHemert- gizmodo.com.au
Sure, anybody with ears can agree that something is lost when records are converted and compressed to digital files. But if you really want to walk the walk you can’t just listen to vinyl, you have to record your own.

Gakken’s Gramophone kit can play records of any size, using a bamboo needle to belch crackling analogue goodness out of its nickel-plated iron horn. Playback speed and tone are adjustable, and the player is powered by a hand crank. We wouldn’t want to spoil your old-school integrity with batteries, now would we?

But the most fun part of the Gramophone kit is the ability to record your own music directly to vinyl.

To record your own records, sing into the horn and the bamboo needle cuts the grooves into a new piece of vinyl. OK, it’s probably not going to sound as good as Garage Band but it’s a fun experiment nonetheless.

It’ll cost you about $US170 to import this sucker from Japan Trend Shop and some assembly is definitely required, but if you’re an analogue enthusiast and looking for a good project, Gakken’s gramophone kit might be the ticket.

Old components, still preferred.... (by those of us in the know)

The Home Stereos That Refuse to Die

Once Thought Doomed by Digital, Turntables and Other Old-School Components Keep on Grooving

By JOSEPH DE AVILA

Ed Sherman grew up listening to Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Police on a record player in his parents' Hazard, Ky., living room. Now 29 and a registered nurse, Mr. Sherman still likes to listen to classic rock the old-fashioned way—and just bought 1970s-era Marantz stereo on eBay. He's also in the market for a Rega record player.

"I'd like to complete that vintage sound," says Mr. Sherman.

For many, $1 songs and $100 players have replaced $20 CDs and $1,000-dollar stereo systems. But not for Mr. Sherman and other audiophiles, many of whom cling to cabinets full of music components and milk crates of albums. Hardly Luddites—many also have MP3 players and listen to Internet radio—these are the folks who refuse to give up the superior sound of older technology.

"On an MP3, the sound is compressed," Mr. Sherman says. "So a lot of the sound that was meant to be heard is gone. On the record, you get the full spectrum of sound."

Read the rest of the story HERE

I love the Mom & Pop Music stores!

Saginaw's Records & Tapes Galore still in the groove
By Deborah Brown
The Saginaw News

Bill G. Wegner, 67, of Saginaw Township, talks about a Jimi Hendrix album with a customer over the phone at his record shop, Records and Tapes Galore, 1303 Court, in Saginaw. Wegner and his wife Judith A. Wegner have run the shop for the past 35 years and sell new and used vinyl records, compact discs, movies, cassettes, eight tracks, stereo equipment and other miscellaneous items.
 
When Bill Wegner was laid off from his audio/visual job in 1974, he and wife Judy took a leap of faith and $80 to open their own business.


“I loved music,” Bill Wegner said. “I suggested it would be fun to have a little store and make a little investment. If it didn’t work, we could just sell it off.”

Thirty-five years later, Records & Tapes Galore, 1303 Court in Saginaw, is going strong.

The Wegners have observed as technology has changed from vinyl records, eight-track and cassette tapes to digital discs and downloadable formats that have eaten into hard-copy sales.

“The industry has come full circle back to record albums,” Bill Wegner said.

Today, the rack behind the counter that Wegner designed to hold 45’s is filled with DVDs, and the old card file that customers used to track their purchases and Judy Wegner’s potted violets, evidence of her longtime hobby, are gone.

But much of the shop remains unchanged.

Judith A. and Bill G. Wegner, both 67 of Saginaw Township, stand in their record shop, Records and Tapes Galore, 1303 Court, in Saginaw. The couple has run the shop for the past 35 years and sell new and used vinyl records, compact discs, movies, cassettes, eight tracks, stereo equipment and other miscellaneous items. Bill is holding a copy of the album 'Alive!' by the classic rock group KISS; it was the source of their first big break in 1975 when there was a shipping problem and they were the only store in the area that had the album for sale.

The Saginaw Township couple still sell used eight-track, cassette and vinyl albums displayed in homemade album racks. The Wegners’ growing inventory of used LPs is evidence of a resurgence. Bill Wegner also finds out-of-print albums and will special-order new ones.


“Music sales are down, but we’re selling vinyl along with CD’s,” he said. “Kids are getting back into records.”

A Nielson SoundScan report showed 2.1 million vinyl albums were purchased through late November, more than any other year since the company began tracking LP sales in 1991. Vinyl record sales rose 14 percent between 2006 and 2007, while CD sales fell 35 percent from 553 million in 2006 to 360 million in 2008.

Bill Wegner attributes the growth to two factors: First, the participatory act of placing the arm of the needle to the record after removing it from the sleeve; and second, the sound of a vinyl record as it differs from the digital forms. Some experts in the field have stated vinyl recordings are superior to the digital disc.

“The records are better quality than the old days, made with a heavier weight vinyl,” he said. “Many of the new vinyl albums are being shipped with CDs inside, or with digital downloads.”


Personal touch

Over Christmas break, Judy Wegner said the shop was humming with customers.

“It was like the old days,” she said. “Kids were home from school or on vacation, and they looked through everything.”

Both Wegners are 67, an age when many people are retired or considering it.

“We have no plans to retire until we’re about 90,” Bill Wegner said. “We’ll stay here until they haul us out feet first.”

On a recent winter day, the bell rang on the shop door and a customer Bill Wegner calls “Vinyl Mikey” walked in.

“I like vinyl,” said Mike Dubay, 45, who drove in from Hemlock with his 17-year-old daughter, Jennifer Dubay, despite a 6-inch snowfall that closed schools. “You never know when you’ll hit it right and get first crack. I specifically go out of my way to find it.”

“He seems to have an instinct for new stuff,” Wegner laughed about Dubay’s habit of arriving when new stock is there.

Dubay approached the counter with a few classic finds.

“George Harrison, Cheap Trick’s ‘Lap of Luxury,’ Santana’s ‘Beyond Appearances’ and Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side of the Moon,’ ” Dubay smiled. His total: $28.

To supplement music sales, the Wegners also sell equipment brought in by customers. They have receivers, turntables, cassette players and a reel-to-reel tape machine. Bill Wegner can offer mechanical advice and find turntable needles, and if he doesn’t have the answer, he knows someone who does.

“It all comes down to personal help,” he said. “We enjoy contact with the customers.”

The early days


The Wegners in 1974 looked for a spot on Hamilton where they say a hippie-like, Haight-Ashbury culture was thriving, but they couldn’t find the right match. On their way home, the couple saw a sign in a small white building on Court.

“We talked with the owner, and he offered the shop for $80 a month, without a bathroom,” Wegner said.

They moved twice among the white buildings on the block before settling into today’s home, a brick building that once housed a meat market.

Wegner made record racks to hold the popular vinyl albums, and 45 rpm singles lined the walls behind the cash register. Judy Wegner’s hobby raising African violets was displayed near the entrance.

The day the Wegners opened, they sold one album for $5 and were thrilled. Their big break came in 1975 when KISS released its “KISS Alive” album and a shipment error occurred.

A manufacturer rushed the records separately from the album jackets to distributors, who then forwarded the records to the stores without the jackets. The missing jackets were left in a storage container, Wegner said.

The Wegners used a different distributor and believe they were the only store in Saginaw that received the complete package. The album was recorded live at many venues on the KISS tour, but the cover art was shot at Cobo Hall in Detroit. Local kids in the photos were anxious to buy the album, Bill Wegner said.

“We couldn’t afford to advertise then,” Judy Wegner said. But through word of mouth, customers found the complete album at their store.

Now owners of the entire building, believe they are the last of the brick and mortar shops of the kind in Saginaw.

 View a slide show of the store, HERE!

The "What If..." Meme (survey about me)

1. You can press a button that will make any one person explode. Who would you blow up?
Her (that's all I can say)

2. You can flip a switch that will wipe any band or musical artist out of existence. Which one will it be?
Nickleback

3. Who would you really like to just punch in the face?
Her husband (see above)

4. What is your favorite cheese?
Smoked Cheddar

5. You can only have one kind of sandwich. Every sandwich ingredient known to humankind is at your immediate disposal. What kind will you make?
Heated corned beef on white toast spread with bacon ranch dressing with melted baby swiss. My own invention a few years ago...

6. You have the opportunity to sleep with the movie celebrity of your choice. We are talking no-strings-attached sex and it can only happen once. Who is the lucky celebrity of your choice?
Katherine Heigl

7. You have the opportunity to sleep with the music-celebrity of your choice. Who do you pick?
Katy Perry - OH YEAH!

8. Now that you’ve slept with two different people in a row, you seem to be having an excellent day because you just came across a hundred-dollar bill on the sidewalk. Holy shit, a hundred bucks! How are you gonna spend it?
Get somthing pretty for my wife.

9. You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere. You have to depart right now. Where are you gonna go?
Liverpool, duh...

10. Upon arrival to the aforementioned location, you get off the plane and discover another hundred-dollar bill. Shit! Now that you are in the new location, what are you gonna do?
Buy a Beatles something as a keepsake from my trip, duh!

11. An angel appears out of Heaven and offers you a lifetime supply of the alcoholic beverage of your choice. It is…?
Gonna have to say Sam Adams Winter Lager...

12. Rufus appears out of nowhere with a time-traveling phone booth. You can go anytime in the PAST. What time are you traveling to and what are you going to do when you get there?
February 8, 1964 - the day before The Beatles were on Ed Sullivan. Get tickets to see the show and then live from then on....

13. You discover a beautiful island upon which you may build your own society. You make the rules. What is the first rule you put into place?
There will be peace here, always!

14. You have been given the opportunity to create the half-hour TV show of your own design. What is it called and what’s the premise?
In My Life...
A story of the actual events of The Beatles told by Mal Evans - long-time friends and road manager. He was a gentle soul that did anything and everything with and for The Beatles.
In the early 1960s, Evans was employed as a telephone engineer, and also worked part-time as a bouncer at the Cavern Club, where The Beatles performed. Manager Brian Epstein later hired Evans as their assistant road manager, in tandem with Neil Aspinall. Evans was tall and heavily-built, and Peter Brown (one of Epstein's staff) later wrote of Evans as "a kindly, but menacing-looking young man". Evans contributed to many Beatle recordings, and appeared in some of the films they made. The Beatles stopped touring in 1966, but Evans carried on assisting the band and working with them in the studio.


Evans was killed by police on 5 January 1976 at his rented duplex in Los Angeles. Officers were called when his girlfriend phoned the police and told them that Evans was confused and had a gun. The police believed that the air rifle Evans was holding was a rifle and shot him dead. Evans was cremated on 7 January 1976 in Los Angeles, and his ashes were sent back to England, but were first lost in the postal system, before being found and given to his family.

15.What is your favorite curse word?
Fuckin' Fucker!

16.One night you wake up because you heard a noise. You turn on the light to find that you are surrounded by MUMMIES. The mummies aren’t really doing anything, they’re just standing around your bed. What do you do?
Go back to sleep. If they're not doing anything, why do something that might MAKE them do something?

17. Your house is on fire, holy shit! You have just enough time to run in there and grab ONE inanimate object. Don’t worry, your loved ones and pets have already made it out safely. So what’s the item?
This is not a fair question.... probably my renters insurance policy so I can replace all of the very important things I collect, like Beatles albums, and KISS action figures, and CD's.....Oh, man! Now you making me think about moving all of that out of the house into a flame resistand storage structure...DAMN YOU!
 18. The Angel of Death has descended upon you. Fortunately, the Angel of Death is pretty cool and in a good mood, and it offers you a half-hour to do whatever you want before you bite it. Whatcha gonna do in that half-hour?
Watch porn and...well... you know. IT'S JUST A HALF HOUR! What else am I to do?

19. You accidentally eat some radioactive vegetables. They were good, and what’s even cooler is that they endow you with the super-power of your choice! What’s it gonna be?
Have complete control over all women. YES ALL WOMEN!

20. You can re-live any point of time in your life. The time-span can only be a half-hour, though. What half-hour of your past would you like to experience again?
My wedding.

21.You can erase any horrible experience from your past. What will it be?
Spending a night (about 20 hours) in jail for something as stupid as trying to talk to my kids while under a no contact order with my ex.

22. You got kicked out of the country for being a time-traveling heathen who sleeps with celebrities and has super-powers. But check out this cool shit… you can move to anywhere else in the world! Bitchin’! What country are you going to live in now?
England

23. This question still counts, even for those of you who are under age. Check it out. You have been eternally banned from every single bar in the world except for ONE. Which one is it gonna be?
Cypress - Cedar Falls, IA - best prices on great beers.


24. Hopefully you didn’t mention this in the super-powers question…. If you did, then we’ll just expand on that. Check it out… Suddenly, you have gained the ability to FLOAT!!! Whose house are you going to float to first, and be like “Dude, check it out…I can FLOAT!”?
My mom and dad's.


25. The constant absorption of magical moonbeams mixed with the radioactive vegetables you consumed earlier has given you the ability to resurrect the dead famous-person of your choice. So which celebrity will you bring back to life?
John Lennon

26. The Celestial Gates of Beyond have opened, much to your surprise because you didn’t think such a thing existed. Death appears. As it turns out, Death is actually a pretty cool entity, and happens to be in a fantastic mood. Death offers to return the friend/family-member/person, etc. of your choice to the living world. Who will you bring back?
George Harrison - see where I'm going with this?

27. What’s your theme song?
Imagine

The Year of the Beatles - 2009

2009 was surely the year of The Beatles. With the long awaited Mono and Stereo Remasters, Beatles Rockband, and so many other Beatles related events.


I am offering a one-time special "cover" for the beginning of 2010!

Here are the many Beatles covers! From the EMI UK releases to the US Capitol albums, as well as some rare ones like the Vee Jay release here in the US (before Capitol Records began distributing them) Introducing the Beatles and the origianal "butcher cover" of Yesterday and Today. Here is a complete list - line by line, left to right, of titles!

Line 1: The Early Tapes of The Beatles with Tony Sheridan, Please Please Me (EMI- UK), Intoducing the Beatles (Vee Jay- US), with the beatles (EMI- UK), Meet The Beatles (Capitol- US), Twist and Shout b/w She Loves You (Capitol- US single), The Beatles Second Album (Capitol- US), Hard Days Night Soundtrack (United Artists- US)

Line 2: Something New (Capitol- US), Hard Days Night (EMI- UK), Songs, Pictures and Stories of The Beatles (Vee Jay- US), The Beatles Story (Capitol- US), Beatles For Sale (EMI- UK), Beatles '65 (Capitol- US), The Early Beatles (Capitol- US), Beatles VI (Capitol- US)

Line 3: Help! (EMI- UK), Help! Soundtrack (Capitol- US), Rubber Soul (Capitol- US; the EMI- UK had orange color lettering and songs in a different sequence as did the US version of Revolver compared to the original EMI- UK version), Yesterday and Today (butcher cover, Capitol- US), Yesterday and Today (trunk cover, Capitol- US), Revolver (EMI- UK; see Rubber Soul above), A Collection of Beatle Oldies (EMI- UK), Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1st album to be released with the same song order by both EMI and Capitol)

Line 4: Magical Mystery Tour, The Beatles (Apple, also known as " the white album), Yellow Submarine Soundtrack, Abbey Road (Apple), Hey Jude (Apple, also listed as The Beatles, Again), Let It Be (Apple), The Beatles Christmas Album (Capitol- US; this is one album featuring all of the Beatles Fan Club Xmas recordings that were sent to the fan club members every Xmas from 1963 to 1969), The Beatles 1962-1966 (Capitol- US; also known as "the red album")

Line 5: The Beatles 1966-1970 (Capitol- US; also known as "the blue album"), Beatles Rock 'n' Roll Music (Capitol- US), Live at the Hollywood Bowl (Capitol- US: great sounding live album recorded in 1964), The Beatles Live at the Start Cub in Hamburg, Germany: 1962 (Lingasong records (bad sound recording from the very early days of the beatles with Stu Sutcliffe on bass and Pete Best on drums(before Ringo) - nice for the collectors), Love Songs (Capitol- US), Rarities (Capitol- US although EMI- UK released on with a differnt cover; much of this would end up on the Past Masters), Rarities (EMI- UK; alternate cover), Reel Music (Capitol- US; features songs from the films)

Line 6: 20 Greatest Hits (Capitol-US), Past Masters Volume 1 (EMI- UK), Paste Masters Volume 2 (EMI- UK), Live @ the BBC (Apple), Antholgy Volume 1 (Apple), Anthology Volume 2 (Apple), Anthology Volume 3 (Apple; covers painted by longtime Beatle friend, Klaus Voorman (whom they met in Hamburg, Germany and since has played bass on many of John's solo albums), Yellow Submarine Songtrack (Capitol- US; Different from the soundtrack as it has all of the songs featured in the movie, without George Martin's background scores)

This ends without adding to the collection, these releases:

These 3 above came free with the Anthology purchase.

A fresh new version of Let It Be as intended by The Beatles in the first place, before Phil Spector ruined it with orchestra backing and other worthless sound. This is MUCH better!

THE number ones!

The Capitol releases on CD for the very 1st time up to Revolver, All the discs have the stereo and mono mixes of each album!

An unbelievable soundtrack to the Cirque de Soleil Las Vegas show featuring The Beatles music. George Martin and son Giles did a mix-mash up of different Beatles song to make up a dreamy, psychedelic wonder of an album!

Here is the Stereo Remaster Box Set from 2009...

..and the Mono Remaster Box Set!

Now, wasn't that fun?

An Interview With Beatles Record and Memorabilia Collector Jesse Barron

By Maribeth Keane, Collectors Weekly Staff (Copyright 2008)


In this interview, Jesse Barron discusses collecting vintage Beatles records and memorabilia, especially rare variants of early Beatles releases (both 45s and LP albums). Based in South Carolina, Jesse can be reached through his website, Mybeatles.net, which is a member of our Hall of Fame.

About 12 years ago a coworker told me that they saw a picture sleeve on eBay from The Beatles selling for 500 dollars. My sister had given me a Beatles 45 picture sleeve when I was quite young. I went to make sure I still had it, and it was similar and still in excellent condition. So that started up my interest again. I had a couple of more Beatles 45s and albums, and I did a little research on the internet and found out they were worth some money. Then I realized I was missing some Beatles records, so I thought it’d be nice to finish out my collection, and started to search for more pieces for my collection.

Collectors Weekly: Were you a Beatles fan when you started?

Read the rest here - Collectors Weekly
(courtesy of Robert Benson)

Blue Moon?

Tonite is an astronomer's wet dream. Did I just say that? I know very little about astrology, but the moon in our skies is a blue one, or more precisely the second full moon of the month, with a partial eclipse, and it's made of (blue) cheese. It's also New Years Eve. The term, "once in a blue moon" has come to mean seldom, rarely, or perhaps never. Apply this as you wish, to whatever may be your current milieux. A full moon is prone to wreak emotional intensity or mahyem. Wolves howl at them, and singers sing about them.


"Blue Moon" is a Rogers and Hart standard. Lorenz Hart wrote four different sets of lyrics to it for four different Hollywood films. The one that stuck, has been recorded by hundreds of artists, and the Elvis Presley version of 1954, is in my mind, one of the most beautiful and haunting records ever recorded. Sam Phillips summoned up some real magic that day in Memphis. Another beautiful and different song of the same name, was recorded by Big Star, in the same city twenty years later with another shaman producer--the late great Jim Dickinson--at the helm.

Bill Monroe's 1947 hit, "Blue Moon of Kentucky" is also a standard, in bluegrass, country, and rock 'n roll. Elvis recorded it in the same sessions that yielded "Blue Moon." In Monroe's version, it's a sad, and plaintive waltz to a lost love ("It was on a moonlight night/ The stars were shining bright/ and they whispered from on high/ Your love has said goodbye"). The stars are whispering to Monroe and he asks the moon to shine on the one that's gone and left him blue." Bill Monroe was a spiritual man, and made some of the spookiest records I know. In some folktales, a blue moon has a face and talks to those in it's light. Elvis, states the same, but asks a favor of the moon in a new set of lyrics for the introduction, "Keep on shining bright and bring me back my baby tonite."

What does all this mean? I haven't a clue. Consult an astrologer.

Happy New Year, and may the moon shine on you and yours, brightly, tonight.
(courtesy of boogiewoogieflu.blogspot.com)